With a little over 24 hours left on the clock before the NFL Draft brings upward of 500,000 fans out in Pittsburgh, the $15 million revitalization of Downtown’s Market Square was officially completed and unveiled Wednesday afternoon.
The iconic public square draws 3 million visitors a year and houses 49 small businesses and vendors, among them the 150-year-old Original Oyster House, Alta Via, The Yard, Space Bar and Nicholas Coffee & Tea Co.
As part of the project, crews:
• built a massive open-air, crescent-shaped steel and blue-green glass pavilion as a focal point at the center of the square;
• removed the curb and regraded the street to make it seamless with sidewalks to ease movement for pedestrians and during events;
• added more security cameras
• planted 33 trees
• upgraded electrical, water, irrigation and lighting systems
• added additional seating
• greatly expanded restaurants’ outdoor dining areas.
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Jeremy Waldrup noted the presence of the pedestrian-first design of Market Street connecting the Square to businesses in Triangle Park and the Sixth Street corridor as one of his favorite features.
“This reimagined square is designed to be more open, more accessible and more welcoming,” Waldrup said. “Market Square is designed to improve safety by putting people in the plaza with 110% more outdoor space and an enhanced European plaza feel that brings people into the center of the square.
“This work has also included a network of security cameras and a more robust public safety communications channels. These tools help our safety teams monitor conditions, respond more quickly and support investigations when needed.”
Mayor Corey O’Connor, whose administration inherited the project, praised the efforts of all involved.
“This is what we’re talking about when we’re talking about gathering space where community can come together,” O’Connor said. “And it didn’t happen just overnight. It happened with a vision, a vision of a lot of elected officials — and I have to thank (former) Mayor (Ed) Gainey for his vision on starting this project — and the dedication that we all have to gathering spaces, to building our community together.
“This isn’t just for the draft. This is for generations of Pittsburghers to come to display their art, their talent, their music and obviously shop and eat at our historic restaurants that have been here for decades and hundreds of years, like the Oyster House.”
On Wednesday draft signage and trappings were already draped from nearly every surface with several makeshift stages and staging areas in place across the breadth of the newly green, clean, open and inviting square. It made it harder for the untrained Pittsburgh eye to tell where the draft ended up and the improvements began.
Around 100 people were seated for the ceremony, with hundreds more excitedly traipsing around the proceedings and taking in the new features.
“Through our vibrancy initiative, more than 100 projects are now complete, or at least they better be in the next several hours,” said Waldrup, drawing a laugh. “(Projects) engaging local artists and entrepreneurs to bring new life to storefront, streets and public spaces. While we set an ambitious goal to align many of these efforts with the draft, the focus is long-term. It’s transforming Downtown and driving continued investment well beyond this moment.”
Oyster House owner Jen Grippo provided perspective on how area businesses were affected by the project through the last year of work.
“Even though I’m excited for it to be over, I will be just a little sad,” Grippo said. “I have few ‘thank yous.’ Of course, as for the construction crew, you guys are the best. We have seen the same faces every day. We have little relationships, and before we knew it, you have all become a part of our family.”
“We know this project has been it has its challenges, and we thank you for your hard work. You all mean so much to us. To the (Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership), you showed up every day. You kept us informed, you listened and you understood what this space means to the people who depend on it. It’s been a hard year, and we appreciate you.”
During the length of the project, the Downtown partnership provided 55 grants totaling more $234,000 to area businesses in an effort to make up for a portion of income losses incurred by decreased traffic brought on by construction’s logistical challenges, according to Waldrup.
The Market Square project was one prong of a $660 million revitalization plan, unveiled by Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2024, aimed at reversing a trend of falling Downtown property values. It was intended to shift the area’s focus away from office buildings and toward residential and community entertainment spaces following the proliferation of remote work spurred by the covid-19 pandemic.
The project, utilizing both public and private funds , also seeks to enhance public safety.
The overall plan included not only Market Square renovations, but $3.4 million worth of work to repair fountain leaks, fix walkways and utilities, improve lighting and spruce up landscaping at the 36-acre Point State Park, which will host a portion of the Draft at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers Thursday through Saturday.
The plan also included the recently completed $31 million, 22-month construction of Arts Landing in Downtown’s Cultural District, which brought 100 new trees, a bandshell for outdoor performances, public art exhibition space, 1 acre of green space, playgrounds, athletic courts and a track as well as a visitors center featuring 24-hour security and public restrooms to a formerly rundown 4-acre site facing the Allegheny River.
Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis were in town to celebrate the occasion as well, reflecting on the beginning of the greater endeavor.
“(A team of city and state officials, the (Downtown partnership) and business leaders) said, we’ve got to do something big Downtown. We’ve got to build community,” Shapiro said. “A couple of years later, look at where we stand.
“We are bringing people back downtown to work, and now we’re going to give them more places to live and play as a result of this effort.”
Additionally, the plan calls for converting empty office buildings to mixed-income housing and various other quality-of-life efforts. Nearby residential conversions of the Smithfield Lofts, 933 Penn Avenue and the May Building were slated to see work. According to Shapiro, six building projects are currently in progress.
Waldrup and Shapiro both looked to the future of the initiative, with Shapiro noting Downtown welcomed 18 new businesses this month.
“We are just getting started and the energy that our entrepreneurs and business owners, corporate leaders, foundation partners and elected officials have is radically changing Downtown,” Waldrup said. “Together, these investments are reimagining the city center that works for everyone, so Market Square is back.”